Washington Business Summer 2018 | Washington Business | Page 19

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Starbucks Reaches 100 percent Pay Equity in the U . S ., Sets Sights on Other Initiatives
Washington ’ s home-grown coffee giant announced at its annual shareholder meeting in Seattle this spring that its initiative to achieve gender pay equity for workers in similar roles in U . S . stores was a success .
Starbucks Chief Partner Officer Lucy Helm said that with that initiative under the company ’ s belt , Starbucks will work “ with deliberate speed ” to close the gender pay gap in stores around the world .
“ Roughly 10 years ago we began serious work to ensure women and men — of all ethnicities and races — are compensated fairly at Starbucks . This accomplishment is the result of years of work and commitment ,” Helm said in a news release .
In addition , the company has expanded paid family leave and granted sick leave to part-time employees .
Additional initiatives announced at the March meeting include :
• NextGen Cup Challenge : The company will invest $ 10 million to develop a greener coffee cup ;
• Bean to Cup Traceability : A pilot program in Costa Rica , Colombia and Rwanda will log and share realtime supply chain information ;
• Opportunity Youth : Starbucks has reached 50,000 hires and is on track to meet its goal of providing greater opportunity for young people ;
• Veterans and Military Spouses : With 15,000 hires to date , Starbucks is on track to meet its goal of 25,000 hires by 2025 ; and ,
• Starbucks College Achievement Plan : More than 10,000 employees have taken advantage of the company ’ s tuition cost coverage program , and more than 1,200 have graduated since its launch in 2014 . For more information on these initiatives and recent
Starbucks announcements , visit news . starbucks . com / news .
Northwest RiverPartners Release Video Highlighting Clean Hydro
The importance of hydroelectric power produced by the Snake and Columbia river dams to the Pacific Northwest was explained in a video released this year by Northwest RiverPartners .
The video , “ The Renewable Recipe of the Pacific Northwest ,” highlights that river system ’ s hydroelectric dams provide more than half of the electricity used in Washington , and do so without emitting any carbon . And , how maintenance and ongoing utilization of the Pacific Northwest ’ s hydro system is a key part of fighting climate change .
It also discusses the coordinated state , local and national efforts over the past 15 years to increase salmon and steelhead runs on the rivers through major investments and updates to the dams and management of water temperatures through the strategic release of reservoirs on hot summer days .
“ As the earth heats up , we ’ re lucky to have hydropower to help keep our carbon levels low ,” the video concludes . “ The Northwest is protecting salmon while preserving our quality of life and most abundant source of home-grown , carbon-free energy . To successfully combat climate change , we need hydro , now more than ever .”
Northwest RiverPartners is an alliance of farmers , utilities , ports and businesses that promote the economic and environmental benefits of the Columbia and Snake rivers and salmon recovery policies based on sound science . To learn more and watch the video , visit nwriverpartners . org . summer 2018 19